HyperSQL with OpenOffice

OpenOffice.org / LibreOffice / ApacheOpenOffice includes HyperSQL
and uses it for embedded databases. Our collaboration with OpenOffice.org
developers over the last few years has benefited the development and
maturity of HyperSQL. Before integration into OOo, HSQLDB was intended
solely for application-specific database access. The application developer
was expected to resolve any integration issues. Because OpenOffice.org is
used by a vast range of users, from schoolchildren to corporate
developers, a much higher level of quality assurance has been required. We
have achieved it with constant help and feedback from OOo users and
developers.

Apart from embedded use, you may want to use OpenOffice /
LibreOffice with a HyperSQL server instance. The typical use for this is
to allow multiple office users access to the same database.

There is also a strong case for using OpenOffice to develop your
database schema and application, even if the database is intended for your
own application, rather than OpenOffice.

HSQLDB version 1.8.0 is included in OOo, ApacheOpenOffice and
LibreOffice 3.x. You can simply replace the jar with an HSQLDB version
2.2.9 jar to use the latest capabilities with external databases. It is
not yet possible to create and use embedded databases with this
version.

HSQLDB version 2.x jar will hopefully be included in the future
versions of ApacheOpenOffice and LibreOffice.

Using OpenOffice / LibreOffice as a Database Tool

OpenOffice is a powerful database front end. If you want to
create schemas, edit tables, edit the database contents manually, design
and produce well-formatted reports, then OpenOffice is probably the best
open source tools currently available.

To connect from OpenOffice to your database, first run a local
server instance for the database. This is describes in the Network
Listeners chapter of this guide.

When you connect from OpenOffice.org, you must specify connection
to an external database and use the URL property "default_schema=true".
For example, the URL to connect the local database may be like

jdbc;hsqldb:hsql://localhost/mydb;default_schema=true

The only current limitation is that OpenOffice only works with
the PUBLIC schema. This limitation will hopefully disappear in the future
versions of OOo.

There wil hopefuly be a version 2.x jar in the future versions of
OpenOffice.

Converting .odb files to use with HyperSQL Server

You may already have an OOo database file, which you want to use
outside OOo, or as a server database. The file is in fact in the standard
ZIP format and contains the normal HyperSQL database files. Just use a
utility such as 7Zip to expand the .odb file. In the /db directory, there
are files such as .script, .data, etc. Just rename these files into
mydb.script, mydb.data, etc. You can now open the mydb database directly
with HyperSQL as an embedded database or as a server instance.